Need help with finding German Records

Question

I am trying to locate my third great grandfather, Augustus Wilhelm Miller’s Birth or baptism record. He was (supposedly) born in Hannover, Prussia (going by what the Censuses say). He came to this country some time in the early 1800s. He married my third great grandmother, Charlotte West Valentine, in New York, New York on January 23, 1837. I have been unable to find records that go back that far for Prussian immigrants. I have all the records I can find in Ancestry and FamilySearch. I am looking for immigration records or ship records and German birth/baptism records for that area of Prussia/Germany in the 1830s (He turned 18 in 1828 and he married in America in 1837). His gravestone says that his birthdate is November 6, 1810. Is there anyone who can help me by posting links to websites that I could search? I really appreciate your help. (I may have posted for help with him before. If so, I apologize for the duplication.)

Thank you!

Missy 

Answer 1

Try Archion. The site is in German and English; fees apply. The address is https://www.archion.de/en/ there are different "passes" which allow you so many days of access and a fixed number of downloads. The starting cost is about 20 euros.

You may also want to take a look at GEDBAS. https://www.compgen.de/

Comments

Thank you very much! It is a start. I appreciate it.

Missy 

Answer 2

If you do a google search on German immigrants there are books of transcribed ship manifests.  Unfortunately he may have come to the US too late to be included in those.  I know they cover 17th and 18th century ships, not unclear about 19th century.  Those late immigrants may be found in official US archives.  Main points of entry tended to be New York, Philadelphia and New Orleans for ships from Hamburg and Bremen.

Here is a link, but better may be National Archives.

Comments

Kathy, thank you for the advice and links! I am checking them out now.

Missy 

Answer 3

If he was german, his birth name would likely be Müller, not Miller. If he was protestant, Archion.de might have records, if he was catholic, data.matricula-online.de might have records. Neither is complete, and without knowing the town he was from, finding him would be extremely hard.

I'd focus on finding more US records that could tell you more about his birth location.

Comments

R Pardieck, Thank you for letting me know about the last name. I only figured out his middle name because his son’s name was Augustus William Miller, Jr and I noticed the German spelling is Wilhelm, so I corrected that. My third great grandfather only ever seemed to use Miller in America and I have yet to see it’s original spelling. However, I have not excluded ANY spelling variations of Miller in my brief German online searches.

I need a copy of immigration papers, for example. However, if they are anything like what I have experienced with my Swedish research, the record may not have the correct spelling. I have only done preliminary online work for Augustus. I am a beginner in researching German records.  I have been working on my Swedish great grandfather’s family for such a long time now. I could help someone out if someone needed Swedish research help.  

Thank you!

Missy 

Answer 4

I think I might have found “something” on Ancestry.com. Thank you AGAIN to R Pardieck for telling me about the Müller. I found a Aug W Muller who came to New York in Sep 7, 1836 and it says he was an apothecary. The next census has my Augustus Miller married to my 3rd great grandmother with my great great grandmother living with them and it says he was a drugest. This man obviously needs more research. (It is an actual copy of the ship manifest.) It says he came from the port of Bremen to New York, New York on the ship Isabella. Other sources say he was from Hannover. I looked on the map and Bremen looks like the port he would’ve come from if he was from Hannover.

Comments

I glad you found the record and apologize for not pointing out that his given name would be Mueller.